Radiant gas burner having concentric gas and air nozzles



July 11, 1950 A J. TURPIN ET AL 2,515,158

RADIANT GAS BURNER HAVING CONCENTRIC GAS AND AIR NOZZLES 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Nov. 19, 1945 INVENTORS ALsxAMoRdTORPWANo AL mm /-7 Sew/MANN BYl wa Patented July 11, 1950 RADIANT GAS BURNER HAVING CONCEN- TRIC GASAND AIR NOZZLES Alexander J. Turpin, Stewart Manor, N. Y., and Alfred F.Schumann, Lower Merion, Pa.

Application November 19, 1945, Serial No. 629,352 6 Claims. (01.158-110) The invention relates to burner apparatus for gaseous fuels,and more especially to burners-designed for concentrating the heatofcombustion, for example, burner apparatus of the so-called radianttype wherein little, if any, flame is visible, the burner proper beingassociated with a wide-angle cone or tunnel element constructed ofsuitable refractory material and shaped to receive the incandescentgases from the burner and to direct radiant energy as desired.

The present invention has for an object to provide a burner constructionof the aforesaid type which will enhance the combustion of a suitablegaseous fuel, which combustion, as well as the mixture of the fuel withair, does not occur until such fuel reaches substantially the dischargetip of the novel burner device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a controllable burnerdevice which will admit of wide variation in the fuel volume.

Another object of the invention is to provide a burner device which willenable gaseous fuels of widely varying calorific value tobe utilized andunder a wide variation in load.

Still another object of? the invention is to so construct the burnerdevice that back-firing or fire-flashback is entirely eliminated, andthat none of the usual expedients or-explosion stops are required inconnection with its operation.

A further object of the invention is to construct a burner device, ofthe nature set forth, of a minimum number of parts and of simple andrugged design.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an extended-nozzletype of burner and to impart both to the flowing gaseousfuel and to theflowing combustion air, particularly the latter, a helical travel; andto arrange,=-also, flow of the former about the latter until theflowsare united at respective orifices for saidgases. 1

The invention has for an object, valso i p vide a wide-angle dischargeand toassociate therewith a refractory, correspondingly-flaring,wide-based conical tunnel element of relatively large effectiveradiating surface for spreading the heat radiations.

In carrying out the invention, a, pair of coaxial nozzle elements isprovided, as in extending the same outwardly from a suitable mountingelement or plate, to afi'ord a gas chamber between the said nozzles, theoutlet ends of both nozzles being contracted and juxtaposed and theorifice of the inner one set back from the orifice of the outer one,said nozzles cooperating attheir orifice ends to formbetween themacontractedehnular opening for said gas chamber.

Extending in the opposite direction i'rom the mounting element,-orrearwardly, is a tubular inlet element within which is secured a tubularplug member adapted to seal off the rear of the inlet element. Thetubular portion of this member is mounted in the longitudinal axis ofthe inner of the two nozzles to form a continuous passageway therewithfor combustion air which is caused to enter tangential ports of saidtubular portion from an air chamber formed between said. portion and thesurrounding Wall of the inlet element. v

The chamber for gaseous fuel formed between the two said nozzleelements, as well as the said air chamber, communicate throughrespective inlet ducts, carried by the mounting element, with suitablesources of supply of gaseous fuel and of air; and the discharge from theorifices mixes against a refractory furnace chamber or tunnel element toincandesce the latter.

The nature of the invention, however, will best be understood whendescribed in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary rear elevation illustrating a, burnerinstallation comprising a plurality of the novel burner devices.

Fig. 2 is a similar side elevation of the installation, partly inlongitudinal section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end elevation of the burner device; and Fig. 4 isa longitudinal section thereof.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section similar to Fig. 4 and illustrates amodification.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section, taken on the line 6--6, Fig. 4 of thedrawings, and looking in the direction of the-arrows, with one of .thenozzles be associated with the mounting member.

and plug removed.

Fig. 7 is a transverse section taken on the line 'l-I, Fig. 4 of thedrawings. l

' Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 8-8, Fig. 3 of thedrawings, and looking in the direction of the arrows, with partsomitted.

Referring to the drawings, l0 designates a mounting member such as aplate from which extends at a cylindrical aperture l0 therein the nozzleassembly H and a pair of ducts l2 and I3 for conveying respectively airand gaseous fuel to nozzles discharging the same substantially at thesame point and directing the combustion upon a refractory cone or tunnelelement M which is to This member may be secured to a suitable support nthe nature of a channel l5, for example, and provided with. an apertureI 6, through which the nozzleassembly l| projects, as shown; and alongWhich'bhannel a plurality or battery of the-novel 3 burner devices maybe installed for multiple operation. Several channels thus equipped maybe bolted together along their respective juxtaposed flanges to increasethe heating capacity of a battery.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 4 of th drawings, it will be notedthat two coaxial nozzle elements 20 and 2| extend outwardly from themounting member In, the latter being integral therewith. The former andinner element is (18-7..

signed to deliver air for combustion of a gaseous fuel which isdelivered from the latter nozzle element 2| or, rather, from the gaschamber 522 formed between it and the nozzleelement 2.0 .and to whichgas is delivered through ,theopening 13a from the duct I3. These nozzleelements are tapered or conical at the discharge end to pro videcontracted orifices 23 and 24, respectively, said orifices terminatingsubstantially in the same plane; and gaseous fuel and combustion airtherefor are thus prevented from inter-mingling prior to the discharge,which eliminates fire-flashback.

The discharge is directed against a suitable radiant element such as,for example, the said outwardly-flaring tunnel member l4 which is ofsuitable refractory material designed to be heated toincandescence bythe combustion, 'as is well understood. This refractory material extendsentirely about the outwardly extending nozzles to the supporting channel15 and may be bolted to the mounting plate It, as indicated, withnozzles extending through the aperture H of the said channel. The saidnozzles are designed to discharge into the wide-based, conical mouth ofthe tunnel element which affords a relatively large radiating area, saidmouth being located in the longitudinal axis of the nozzle assembly andjuxtaposed to the outlet orifices thereof to receive the dischargetherefrom. The wall of said mouth is conformed to the discharge andbecomes incandescent therefrom to radiate heat over a substantial area.

Extending rearwardly from the mounting plate H! to communicate with theinner nozzle member 29 is an integral tubular inlet element 25 locatedin the longitudinal axis of the nozzles, andiproviding a chamber 26 openat the rear but designed tobe closed thereat by a tubular plug member21. The head of this member is threaded into the said element to permitremoval of the said plug member to admit of access to the'interior ofthe inlet element 25 as well as to allow of assembling the nozzles ofwhich the inner one or air nozzle 20 is, preferably, arranged to beremovable. This is effected by constructing said nozzle 20 as anextended tube with flange 28 at its inner end, which flange is designedto seat in a countersunk portion of the aperture in mounting plate I9,such as the circular recess 29, and to shoulder against the bottomthereof, the recess being coaxial with the longitudinal axis of thenozzles. It is retained in position by the wall of the cylindricalaperture I0 and by the inner end of the tubular plug member 27 which iscaused to bear against the flange 28, and is tightened by screwing inthe plug member to the required extent. The plug carries an inwardlydirected tube or additional nozzle element 30, the same being screwed atone end into the said plug and extends into the inner nozzle member 20coaxially therewith to furnish through its open end 3| a non-rotatingand auxiliary supply of air from the chamber 25 or, rather, from theinterior 32 of the tubular portion of said plug, for the purposehereinafter 4. set forth. The inner portion of the element 30 is to thisend provided with diametrically disposed perforations 33 communicatingwith the interior of the tubular plug member 21; and its outlet end 3|terminates slightly behind the orifice 23 of the nozzle element 20. Insome instances, as when operating at reduced pressures or where therotation imparted to the main supply of air is substantially reduced,this additional nozzle element 30 may be omitted, as indicated in Fig.5.

"The foregoing arrangement aliords a convenient and .simple means ofassembly and allows of accurate positioning of the inner nozzles 20 and30 relatively to their surrounding nozzle 21; and, in addition, providesfor ready access to the interior of the respective nozzles should thisbecome necessary. It will be noted in this connection that the actualburner element of the novel burner device is thus constituted of onlythree main members- By the introduction of the plug member '2 i, the airchamber'26 will, of course, be reduced to an annular cylindricalconformation, but provision is made to open this annular portion to thein terior of the tubular portion of said plug member and in such amanner, furthermore, that the air entering the nozzle element 20 willhave had a. rotary movement imparted thereto so "that it will followmore or less a "helical path through the said nozzle, as indicated bythe arrows. This will enhance its mixture with the gaseous fueldischarged from the :nozzle element 2-! or, rather; from the space orchamber 22 between the two said nozzles, by creating considerabletubulence at their orifices. The aforesaid rotar 'ilowof the air issecured by providing in the wall of the tubular portion of the plugmember I circularly disposed tangential and elongated ports3'5 parallelto its longitudinal axis.

Air is supplied to the chamber ZE by the inlet duct l2 formed on themounting plate, said duct as well as the duct l3 for gaseous fuelcommuni-' eating respectively with suitable sources of supply (notshown). in the case of both of these supplies, the said communicatingducts provide more or less arcuate passageways which will' tend toimpart to the respective flows a rotary movement so that also the flowof the gaseous fuel will be more or less along a. helical path throughthe gas-chamber 22 to the discharge orifice. 1

It will be appreciated that in order to obtain the desired combustioncone for satisfactory radiation from the element 14, substantialrotational movement must be imparted to the air sup plied, but this islikely to develop a "considerable vacuum immediately adjacent theorifices of the burner which may interfere with'the combustion as wellas render the operation of the burner extremely noisy. By theintroduction ofthe aux iliary and non-rotating air through the provisionof the additional 'nozzle element 30, the tendency is tobreak suchvacuum and to reduce materially the noises developed. g

A further and through duct 36 is formed over the outer surface of thenozzle assembly between it and the surrounding refractory material Whichhas a groove 31 formed in its inner surface. This duct extends from therear of the burner device over the nozzle 2i to its orifice to serve asan ig-v nition duct in starting operation of thesaid burn-j er device. Ahinged cover 38 normally'maintains the rear end of the said duct closed.f

In the use of 'a burner device as hereinbefore described, combustion israpidly completed, due

to the turbulence created and the high velocity of the mixing gases;also, rapid incandescence is insured thereby over the inner surface ofthe associated tunnel element. The gases may be supplied. underrelatively high pressures; and an adequate control thereof is possibleunder widely varying volumes at predetermined constant ratio ofpressures of the gases, all without danger of flashback or interruptionof the combustion.

The present application is a continuation in part of our applicationSerial No. 594,530, filed May 18, 1945 and now abandoned.

We claim:

1. A gaseous-fuel, radiant burner device, comprising an aperturedmounting element, a tubular inlet element rearwardly directed therefrom;two coaxial nozzle elements outwardly directed from the mounting elementand terminating in respective juxtaposed orifices, a gaseous fuelchamber being formed between said nozzle elements, and the inner of thenozzle elements communicating with the said rearwardly-directed tubularinlet element; a tubular, headed plug member threaded into the outer endof the inlet element to seal the same thereat, said member being coaxialwith the inner nozzle element and its tubular portion, when said plugmember is threaded into the inlet member, contacting the inner end ofthe peripheral portion of said inner nozzle element to seal the latterthereat forming a continuous passage- Way with said inner nozzle elementand providing then a chamber between its periphery and the said inletelement, the tubular portion having tangential, circularly disposedports for sole passage of air from said air chamber to the inner of thesaid nozzle elements; an inlet duct for gaseous fuel communicating withthe gaseous fuel chamber and carried by the mounting element; and aninlet duct for air communicating with the air chamber and carried by themounting element.

2. The burner device of claim 1, wherein an auxiliary air supply tube issecured at one end to the tubular plug member and extends therefromcoaxially into the inner of the two coaxial nozzle elements, saidauxiliary air supply tube having openings at its inner portion to affordcommunication between the auxiliary air supply tube and the interior ofthe tubular plug member, and its outer discharge end being juxtaposed tothe burner orifices.

3. A gaseous-fuel, radiant burner device, comprising an aperturedmounting plate; a tubular discharge element extending at one faceoutwardly from the aperture of the plate and provided with a, contracteddischarge orifice; a tubular inlet element extending backwardly from theplate coaxially with the discharge element; a nozzle element fitting inthe aperture of said plate, extending coaxially into the dischargeelement and terminatin in a contracted discharge orifice juxtaposed tothe first-named discharge orifice; removable tubular plug meansextending into the inlet element to retain the nozzle element inposition and to seal the inlet element, and its tubular portionregistering axially with the aperture and nozzle element and contactingthe latter to seal the same thereat, said tubular portion havingtangential, circularly disposed inlet ports opening into an annularchamber formed between its periphery and the inlet element; an inletduct for air communicating with the said annular chamber and carried bythe mounting plate; and an inlet duct for gaseous fuel communicatingwith the interior of the tubular discharge element about the nozzleelement and carried by said mounting plate.

4. The burner device of claim 3, wherein the mounting plate iscountersunk to afford an aperture therethrough and to seat a flange atthe inlet end of the nozzle element, said flange being engaged by theinner end of the tubular plug means to retain thereby said nozzleelement 00- axially within the tubular discharge element.

5. A gaseous-fuel, radiant burner device, comprising an aperturedmounting element, a pair of tubular elements extending coaxiallyoppositely from the mounting element and its aperture to afford athrough passageway, means located within one of the tubular elements toimpart rotary motion to a stream of air therein, a further tubularelement extending outwardly from the aperture coaxially within the otherof the said oppositely-extending tubular elements and terminating at itsoutlet, an inlet duct for gaseous fuel communicating with the spacebetween the two coaxial tubular elements, a duct for air communicatingwith the said one of the tubular elements, and an auxiliary air supplytube extending coaxially within the further tubular element and incommunication at the inner end with the air duct.

6. A gaseous-fuel, radiant burner device, comprising an aperturedmounting element, a pair of tubular elements extending coaxiallyoppositely from the mounting element and its aperture to aiford athrough passageway, means to seal the end of one of the oppositelyextending tubular elements and including a tubular portion providing anair chamber therein extending to the aperture, said tubular portionhaving tangential ports to afford communication between said chamber andthe aperture, a further tubular element extending outwardly from theaperture coaxially within the other of the said oppositelyextendingtubular elements and terminating at its outlet, an inlet duct forgaseous fuel communicating with the space between the two coaxialtubular elements, a duct for air communicating with the air chamber, andan auxiliary air supply tube extending from the sealing means coaxiallywithin the further tubular element and communicating at the inner endwith the tubular portion of the sealing means.

ALEXANDER J. TURPIN. ALFRED F. SCHUMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name Date 391,865 Schulte Oct. 30, 1888914,193 Schumaoher Mar. 2, 1909 1,862,673 Foster June 14, 1932 1,893,533Barber Jan. 10, 1933 2,138,998 Brosius Dec. 6, 1938 2,332,210 Frank Oct.19, 1943 2,368,370 Maxon Jan. 30, 1945 2,377,497 Hopkins June 5, 1945FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 384,7 60 Germany Nov. 5, 1923500,699 Germany June 24, 1930

